Tragedies happen too often. And, when tragedies do occur, it’s difficult not to place blame. Placing blame, however, does not always mean that someone is legally liable for the tragedy.
In the recent case of Sandra Wallis v. Brainerd Baptist Church, et al., a tragedy occurred. During a cycling class, the Plaintiff’s husband collapsed and ultimately died. The instructor and other responders immediately gave first aid. It appears that since a slight pulse was found, the responders chose not to use the onsite AED (defibrillator). The Plaintiff-Widow sued the church arguing that it was liable primarily because the AED was not used. The church denied liability and filed a claim against the company that sold it the AED, provided training, and agreed to maintain the church’s physician oversight program.
The very lengthy Tennessee Supreme Court decision addressed numerous legal and factual issues, which won’t all be discussed in this post. However, relevant to this post is the Court’s discussion about the legislature’s decision to adopt laws intend to increase the availability of AEDs. See Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 68-140-401. Although encouraging the use of AEDs, the laws, however, do not mandate their use if a business chooses to have one onsite. But, if a business chooses to have an AED, the business must satisfy Tenn. Code Ann. §§ 68-140-408 and the TN Dept. of Health requirements. These laws generally require certain training, maintenance, registration and program development before an AED may actually be used.
Of note to the Wallis case, is the law which generally statesthat if a business acquires an AED and complies with the law, the business “receives statutory immunity from civil liability for negligent acts or omissions arising from use of an AED, although this immunity does not extend to willful or wanton misconduct or gross negligence.” Wallis at p. 17.
In other words, the business having an onsite AED, which follows the training/registration laws, shouldn’t be liable for a tragic situation such as the one the Plaintiff went through.
Although, the Court didn’t dismiss the entire case due to the current way in which it was on appeal, it seems clear that businesses which choose to have, maintain, and properly use AEDs in emergency situations should not be liable under most tragic situations. As with any application of the law to a specific set of facts, businesses wishing to explore whether they are in compliance with the law should do so in conjunction with legal counsel.